Narayanpur SP 'assaults' driver over 'unclean' car; officer moved out after CM rap

The driver of Narayanpur district Superintendent of Police in Chhattisgarh on Monday accused the officer of thrashing him for not keeping the official car clean, prompting the state government to immediately transfer the SP who was rebuked by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for his alleged action.

However, the Narayanpur Superintendent of Police (SP), U Uday Kiran, denied the charge of assault and claimed he had just "reprimanded" the driver, a tribal.

The alleged incident took place in the morning following which Jailal Netam, a police constable posted as driver of the Narayanpur SP, was shifted to district hospital here. After the incident, Baghel ordered the police officer's removal.

As per an order issued by the Home department late in the evening, Kiran has been transferred to Police Headquarters, Raipur, as Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP). Superintendent of Police (CM Security) Girija Shankar Jaiswal, a 2010-batch IPS officer, has been appointed the new SP of Narayanpur, it said.

“Police officers are expected to deal strictly with criminals. It is not excusable to beat up a subordinate employee.. Instructions have been issued to remove Narayanpur's superintendent of police for his behaviour,” the CM tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Netam told reporters in the hospital that he was assaulted by the SP for not properly cleaning the official vehicle, a car. A doctor of the hospital said, "Prima facie there was no external internal injury on Netam's body and he is under observation. His condition is stable.”

Members of the Sarva Adivasi Samaj (SAS), an umbrella body of tribal communities, met Netam at the hospital and assured him of support and help in ensuring justice, said Sonu Korram, chief of Narayanpur district unit of the organization.

The SAS has handed over a memorandum, addressed to the Governor and the Chief Minister, to the Narayanpur Collector seeking action against the SP, he said. Besides, we have also submitted a complaint at the Ajak police station (meant to address grievances of SC/ST members) here seeking an FIR under provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act against the police officer, Korram said.

“The Adivasi samaj has given a memorandum mainly over three points, including the alleged incident of assault on the driver. Further action will be taken after investigation into all these issues,” Collector Dharmesh Sahu told mediapersons.

The constable, in a letter to the Chhattisgarh Anusuchit Janjajti Shaskiya Sevak Sangh, a body of government employees belonging to ST communities, claimed the SP abused and thrashed him so hard that he was unable to even walk and had to be admitted in the hospital.

He requested the outfit to take cognizance of the incident so that he could get justice. Kiran, a 2015-batch IPS officer, dubbed the allegations as "baseless".

The officer claimed he had just "reprimanded" Netam for allegedly committing negligence in discharging his duty.

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